


The Cost of Victory

by seri-kun (vanijane)



Series: Purus Sanguinis [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (Between Sirius Black/Narcissa Black), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Feels, Cousin Incest, F/M, Female Regulus Black, Implied/Referenced Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26117473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanijane/pseuds/seri-kun
Summary: Regina Black was one of the Order’s most successful spies. She infiltrated the innermost ranks of the Death Eaters, gained the trust of Lord Voldemort, and found the secret to his power. All of this came at cost of everything that she had always dreamed and wanted for herself.
Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter
Series: Purus Sanguinis [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903453
Comments: 8
Kudos: 103





	The Cost of Victory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ellory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellory/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Restricted Work] by [Ellory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellory/pseuds/Ellory). Log in to view. 



> This work was inspired by the Pureblood Culture series by [Ellory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellory), and some of the headcanons she posted in relation to Pureblood Culture on her defunct tumblr page. Specifically on magical cores, bonds, and bonding ceremonies.  
>    
>  Also a few **warnings** before proceeding on:  
>  * Regina Black (Genderbent/Female Regulus Black)  
>  * Brief mention of Sirius Black/Narcissa Black cousincest  
>  If any of these themes or content offends you, please turn away and click the back button (ALT + Left arrow key). Any comments criticising or bashing the above mentioned warnings will be deleted.  
>    
>  Thank you and please enjoy.

Regina Black was one of the Order’s most successful spies. She infiltrated the innermost ranks of the Death Eaters, gained the trust of Lord Voldemort, and found the secret to his power. All of this came at cost of everything that she had always dreamed and wanted for herself.

It would have been better had she drowned in that cave when she retrieved the first of several horcruxes. Yet Kreacher proved his faithfulness and loyalty to her by going against her explicit orders. The house elf took hold of her and delivered her to James Potter.

After an agonising week battling a curse of dying thirst and hysteria, Regina managed to recover enough sense for her to return to the Order. With her crucial discovery, there was barely any time for rest, though she preferred having to work for the Order instead of being hidden away in a nice little cottage with Frank and Alice Longbottom. They searched and poured through every bit of Tom Riddle’s life, scrutinising every miniscule detail to identify any potential horcruxes so they could finally end his reign.

It took them months to identify and collect all six, a few more to find a way to destroy them, all the while, more and more lives were being sacrificed to reach their victory. Regina faced Death countless of times throughout the war, but Death would let her go and she survived to feel the scathing burn on her arm when Riddle was finally defeated.

When the war ended, she had no choice but to finally face the costs of her heroism.

She could never put the blame on Dumbledore for her assignment, she had volunteered to join the Order and understood that she was the best candidate for the role she had to play. Yet whenever she saw Frank and Alice, or her brother and Narcissa, she would be filled with bitterness. _It didn’t have to be her, it could have been anyone, anyone else who didn’t have a Soul Mark—_

There was no point in being one of Tom Riddle’s faceless foot soldiers. She needed to gain his trust and confidence, but the only way to achieve that was to rise through the ranks and take the Dark Mark. To do so would forever sever the bond she had with her Soulmate. Her body and magic would be tainted for the rest of her life, she would never be able to escape all the horrors she committed to integrate herself within the Death Eaters.

The Dark Mark severed all of her bonds, even her familial and blood bonds. Though she had no particular fondness for her parents, she took pride and comfort in her family’s magic. The House of Black was seeped in ancient Dark magic that Regina found to be pleasantly cooling and reassuring, like a cloak that kept her protected from all harm. The Mark left her with a cold emptiness that was impossible to fill or warm even with the hottest of fires, and with Riddle’s death, she was left without any bond nor the ability to form new bonds.

“You should bond with Lily.” She spoke with a hollow voice, her expression blank as a doll’s, to the man she once loved with every bit of her being. Now she was unsure if she was capable or worthy of it. “She has no Soul Mark. It would be easy to form a soul bond with her.”

It was horrifying how easily and monotonously those words tumbled out of her mouth. Before she took the Mark, just the mere thought of James with any other witch tore at her mind and chest like a cutting curse, but now she felt nothing but a faint thrum of bitterness.

The expression on James was both sad and horrified, a combination so foreign on his face that Regina felt a pang of regret for being the cause of it. _Oh, how she used to love him_ —and she knew as a matter of fact that James had never stopped loving her. Even now with dulled senses and frozen emotions, his love shone through in the way his eyes would soften with tears as he looked upon her, and when it would sharpen with a bitter anger when he would think of what she gave up for—

 _It would all be fixed in due time_.

When Regina took the Mark, a part of both hers and James’ magical cores were syphoned by the curse and left empty. When James would bind his soul with Lily Evans, it should be enough to fill in the hole. Lily proved that muggleborns were not lesser than purebloods, she was undoubtedly a powerful witch with a brilliant mind. Though she could be a little more patient, she would suit James and make him learn to temper his brash and carefree tendencies. She would be an excellent replacement for the Regina that no longer existed.

“I refuse,” James insisted as he marched towards her. He took her hands into his own, his grip firm and warm as he pressed her hands over his chest. “I love you, Regina. My soul belongs to _you_. The Dark Mark isn’t going stop or change that.”

Regina stared back up at him and an old memory flashed briefly in her mind. It was of a similar instance where they held hands and James was smiling down at her so lovingly. They were much younger then, so full of life and love, oblivious to what was already brewing outside the walls of Hogwarts.

She wished she could feel the same way she did in that memory, but her chest didn’t flutter with excitement nor did her pale cheeks fill with warmth. She vaguely recalled enjoying all the times James would look at her with love and stars in his eyes, as if she was the centre of his world.

The only emotion she could feel now was a thrum of regret and oozing bitterness.

Her face twisted angrily and she pulled her hands from him hold. “The bond is _gone_ , James! Don’t you see that?! Can’t you _feel_ it?! There’s no point for you to stay here!”

His arms chased after her and grabbed hold of her shoulders so he could pull her against him, keeping her tightly locked into his embrace.

“Of course I feel it!” His voice broke with a sob, and he buried his face into her hair as the tears spilled to her cheeks. When he spoke again, he sounded like a broken man. “I’ve felt it ever since you took the Mark.”

Regina inhaled deeply but the act itself was already difficult. James held her so tightly that there was a brief moment where she felt the warmth of his magic in her core. Suddenly there was longing coil in her gut for that warmth, and she held onto him, weakly trying to fold his magic against her broken one.

“We belong to each other, Regina. I’m _not_ letting you go. I’ve waited all my life for you, this is a setback _we_ won’t lose to.” He pulled away so he could once again look at her. “I will find a way to break this curse—I swear. We will be whole again.”

She had no words to offer him. Riddle was a gifted spell caster and the Dark Mark was one of his many personal spells. There was no telling of the intricacies and complexities of the charms and curses that made the whole of it. It would be impossible—

She felt the faint warmth of James’ magic coiling around her, weaving through the broken shards and pieces of her own. It was weak, but she could sense the love, the determination, the _hope_. Tears immediately sprung in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She had never felt so alive since the Mark took everything away from her.

It was a start, and James Potter made her _believe_.


End file.
